Buying power equivalent of 1935 U.S. Dollar

[Walter Satterthwait]

Hi.

Does anyone know what one U.S. 1935 dollar would have had as
contemporary buying power today?

Regards,
Walter Satterthwait

[Coin Saver]

>From: Walter Satterthwait

>Does anyone know what one U.S. 1935 dollar would have had as contemporary
buying power today? >

In 1935, Henry Ford paid $5 a day wages for a 10-hr. day, which translates to
$2.oo/hr. If you can determine the "average wage" of the Ford worker today,
you'll have one comparison.

Coin Saver

[Michael G. Koerner]

Coin Saver wrote:
>
> >From: Walter Satterthwait
>
> >Does anyone know what one U.S. 1935 dollar would have had as contemporary
> buying power today? >
>
> In 1935, Henry Ford paid $5 a day wages for a 10-hr. day, which translates to
> $2.oo/hr.

Actually, about 50｢/hour.

If you can determine the "average wage" of the Ford worker today,
> you'll have one comparison.
>
> Coin Saver

I don't have the exact figure, but a CPI change of 15-20 fold from 1935
to 2002 sounds about right to me.

Based on that, the USA should be using coins up to $10 and banknotes for
$20 on up today.

--
___________________________________________ ____ _______________
Regards, | |\ ____
| | | | |\
Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again!
Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | |
___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________

[Aram H. Haroutunian]

Uh, ahem. $5 for 10 hours translates to $0.50 per hour, doesn't it?
Aram.
=============================

[Coin Saver]

>From: bustpoet

>Uh, ahem. $5 for 10 hours translates to $0.50 per hour, doesn't it? Aram. >

... "Dobac Math" ...
:-D
(blushedly ducks and sneaks out of the room)

Coin Saver

[Ed Hendricks]

Is this Dobac math again? :-)

One would think that $2.00/hr X 10 hrs would be $20.00 not $5.00; and that
$5.00 ÷ 10 hrs would be 50¢ per hour. Have I missed the whole point here?
I'm a little slow today.

Ed

"Coin Saver" <coin...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20020820131611...@mb-bh.aol.com...

[Stradivari1688]

>Based on that, the USA should be using coins up to $10 and banknotes >for $20
on up today.

Odd, then (notwithstanding gold issues), that we should have had coins up to
$20 until 1933, and that circulating banknotes up to $10000 were printed until
1944!

I agree with you completely.

[TomDeLorey]

That $5 per day pay at Fords was much earlier, around 1915 IIRC.
.
FWIW, in the Summer of 1936 my grandfather was working as a steelworker down at
the Ford Rouge Plant where they were putting in another blast furnace, and he
got my Dad (then 15 going on 16) a temporary job walking around in wet cement
all day stomping out air bubbles. My Dad said that his legs were killing him,
but he was making 65 cents an hour for this highly unskilled labor, and he was
the richest kid on the block.
Tom DeLorey
.
>Subject: Re: Buying power equivalent of 1935 U.S. Dollar
>From: coin...@aol.comnojunk (Coin Saver)
>Date: 8/20/2002 12:16 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <20020820131611...@mb-bh.aol.com>

[Coin Saver]

>From: tomdelorey

>That $5 per day pay at Fords was much earlier, around 1915 IIRC. >

Don't know about the year 1915, but if you chech out the Depression-Era
occurrences at Ford, you'll see where they paid that ($5/10-hr day), which was
offered following a plant lockout and employee protest. circa 1936 or so.

Coin Saver

[Vinkjm]

Yes 50 cents a hour,IF you had someone with enough pull to get you the job
Mininum wages were 35 or 40 cents per
I think the new ford was about $450 ,to 500
Yes they were tough times, marty

[James McCown]

lun...@earthlink.net (Walter Satterthwait) wrote in message news:<2591ff80.02082...@posting.google.com>...

A 1935 dollar is roughly equal to 10.5 2002 dollars.

It is not valid to compare wages in order asses the buying power of a
dollar, because real wages have increased considerably since 1935.

But it is difficult to compare purchasing power over that length of
time. Someone in 1935 would not be able to buy a computer nor a heart
transplant, no matter how much money they had.

[Richard]

Hello there,

hope I am not out of line to join into this conversation and don't know
what was said preciously but also wanted to point out the Great
Depression that was in the 1930s.

Not sure whether that was mentioned or not. But each and every Dollar
that someone had went to good use. I live in Canada and from a
numismatics point of view I would imagine it is quite telling that a
"mere" 1935 $5 note in UNC would catalogue around C$1750 these days (per
Charlton Catalogue). (approx US$1100)

Becasue of the circumstances found in those days I would agree with
James's opinion that it's difficult to compare the purchasing power.

Just a thought and personal opinion.

Cheers,
Richard

banknotes - at - shaw -dot - ca

[Richard]

Hello there,

hope I am not out of line to join into this conversation and don't know
what was said preciously but also wanted to point out the Great
Depression that was in the 1930s.

Not sure whether that was mentioned or not. But each and every Dollar
that someone had went to good use. I live in Canada and from a
numismatics point of view I would imagine it is quite telling that a
"mere" 1935 $5 note in UNC would catalogue around C$1750 these days (per
Charlton Catalogue). (approx US$1100)

Becasue of the circumstances found in those days I would agree with
James's opinion that it's difficult to compare the purchasing power.

Just a thought and personal opinion.

Cheers,
Richard

banknotes - at - shaw -dot - ca

[Jerry Dennis]

Having kept on file a conversion chart I scarffed on RCC, a 1935 dollar is
worth roughly $12.85.

http://www.lospadrescounty.net/et/inflation.html

Give it a shot. At least that's what the gubment sez (gotta watch that Dobac
math). :-)

Jerry